The U.S. Companies With The Most Offshore Cash
The use of tax havens is ubiquitous across America’s 500 largest companies. Collectively, they hold $2.1 trillion in offshore cash, according to a recent study by Citizens for Tax Justice and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund. Establishing foreign subsidiaries in places with little or no tax such as Bermuda or the Cayman Islands, has allowed them to avoid an estimated $90 billion in federal income taxes each year.
The report names Apple AAPL +1.42% as the very worst Fortune 500 offender. Holding just over $181 billion offshore, it would owe about $59 billion if it was subject to U.S. taxes. Instead, it has established two Irish subsidiaries that are neither tax residents of Ireland nor the United States. By routing profit though these Irish subsidiaries and the Netherlands and Caribbean, it avoids paying tax to any government on most of its earnings.
